Due to a supply shortage, we learned from our contractor that they would not be able to have the pews and kneelers ready until November. Since the timing would not be optimal, we have decided to push off any changes until the summer of 2024. More background: For this initiative, due to its impact and complexity, we reached out to many for their input and discussed the value of upgrading our pews and kneelers. 1. As you may know, we have a Finance Council of 6 members including Fr. Dan, Mike Bliss (Finance and Operations), and 4 parishioners: Justin Klosek, Stephanie O’Brien, Kyle Shachmut, and Tom Morrison. In addition, we have a project manager, Chris Golden. We collectively weigh in on all projects impacting any of our facilities. 2. In this case, we also reached out and received input from the Collaborative Parish Council, which includes 13 parishioners and 7 staff members. 3. We also try to speak to various parishioners to get a wider variety of opinions and thoughts. Upgrading the pews and kneelers has been on our list of items to address for the past few years for a number of reasons: —The dividers in the middle of the pews make Communion difficult for regular attendees, and also for those who attend church infrequently, such as for weddings, funerals, Baptisms and First Communions. —The new pews are contoured to make seating more comfortable, which can make a huge difference. Anything that we can do to assist our parishioners or help bring folks to Jesus and His Church, even more so now after the effects of Covid on attendance, should be considered. —We have heard from those we spoke with that our kneelers are a bit heavy and cumbersome. New kneelers will be lighter. —Floors: When new floors were reinstalled years ago to improve our old flooring throughout the church, the floor area under the pews were not included. That left that area under the pews lower than the aisle flooring. We have experienced some parishioners leaving the pews and tripping as they tried to exit at Communion or at the end of Mass. We plan to fix this and eliminate this potential hazard. —While we wanted to mimic the color scheme of our current pews, we realize that it may be a little different due to what is available, but we are certainly keeping that in mind. —Cost: We are extremely fortunate through the very generous donations of Gus Morelli, the funds we received with St. Philip Neri choosing Sacred Heart as their next spiritual home, and the donations of several other parishioners over the years that we have a sizeable portfolio invested and managed by the Archdiocese. These monies are designated to address the maintenance needs of our Parish. We have never had to request additional donations for any project up to this point. As a Finance Council, we spend a set amount each year to address the maintenance or upgrading that is necessary. We keep to a set amount with the goal to have this fund in perpetuity. —Timing - The optimum time for a project of this nature is the summer. Our attendance is lower and the Lower Church is able to handle the number of parishioners without any problem. —Lastly, we are attempting to address our larger projects now while we have Chris Golden available to us. He has been guiding us for several years. His experience before he joined us and while assisting us is immeasurable. I hope this provides a little more insight as to why we wanted to take on this project, why it was important, and the changes you might expect to see. I apologize for not providing earlier this more thorough explanation rather than the brief comments made from the Ambo and the announcement made in the Bulletin last November. Any input you might have is welcomed. Please let me know. If you send your emails to Sioux Mont at smont@sholnewton.org, and she will forward it to my attention. Thank you. -Tom Morrison, Sacred Heart Finance Council Chair